One of the most common questions I get from pastors and church leaders is this:
Which should come first in revitalization, getting our governance right or setting our vision and mission?
It’s a great question, and honestly, it can be a difficult one to answer because it’s so contextual. My personal preference is to start with governance. I like to make sure the foundation is solid, that the church has clear lines of authority, biblical structure, and clarity around how decisions are made.
But the truth is, it doesn’t always work that way in the real world.
Sometimes, beginning with vision is the best move. Vision has a way of inspiring people, of drawing them toward a sense of purpose. When a church feels tired or divided, starting with governance might feel too procedural or technical to gain traction. In those cases, casting vision first can help reawaken energy and unity.
However, no matter where you start, you can’t stop at vision. If you never circle back to fix the governance, you’ll eventually stall.
That’s the mistake many churches make. They jump into vision work, crafting beautiful statements, clear strategies, and exciting goals, but they never clarify who actually has the authority to make decisions or how those decisions get carried out.
You can have the best vision in the world, but if your governance is unclear, that vision won’t go anywhere. It will get stuck in meetings, blocked by confusion, or weakened by leaders who aren’t on the same page. I’ve seen churches craft inspiring vision frames, only to have them fade away because no one knew who was responsible for what.
When governance is unclear, decision-making becomes slow and frustrating. Volunteers lose energy. Staff lose motivation. The excitement of the vision fades under the weight of red tape.
And here’s the thing. Pursuing vision requires agility. It requires a church to be nimble and responsive to what’s happening around them, without ever compromising the gospel. That kind of responsiveness only happens when governance is clean, clear, and aligned with biblical principles.
In most churches I work with, governance takes the form of a plurality of elders. The pastor is often the first among equals within that group. It’s a model with strong biblical precedent, but it can easily lean toward one of two unhealthy extremes.
On one extreme, the elders become a rubber stamp, and the pastor has near total control with little accountability. That can lead to unhealthy power dynamics and even moral failure.
On the other extreme, the governing body micromanages everything, stifling the pastor’s ability to lead and draining the energy of staff and volunteers.
Neither extreme works.
What I’ve found helpful over the years is something called policy governance, sometimes referred to as the John Carver model. It wasn’t designed specifically for churches. It actually comes from the nonprofit world, but it overlays beautifully onto an elder-led church structure.
Policy governance creates clear lines of authority. Everyone knows who is responsible for what, who reports to whom, and how decisions are made. It keeps leadership accountable while also empowering them to lead effectively.
When governance is healthy and clear, vision becomes much easier to discern and implement. The church can listen to the Holy Spirit together, sense what God is calling them to do, and move forward confidently without getting bogged down in confusion.
So which comes first? In an ideal world, governance. But in the real world, it might start with vision, as long as governance follows close behind.
Because vision without governance is just inspiration.
Governance without vision is just organization.
But when both are in place, the church becomes a living, breathing, Spirit-led movement again.
